SAN DIEGO, Sept. 16, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Everest, the first platform to combine biometric identity with a digital wallet, announced today that it is partnering with Indonesia’s TNP2K (National Team for the Acceleration of Poverty Reduction) to conduct a pilot in selected regions to enhance the efficiency, accountability, transparency, and gender inclusivity of the National LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) Subsidy Program.
By leveraging blockchain technologies, the Everest platform helps deliver subsidies to digital wallets, enabling those who meet the requirements to realize this important benefit, even users without a mobile device. The LPG subsidy program was developed to provide 41 million Indonesian households with liquified petroleum gas as cooking fuel instead of dangerous and costly kerosene.
“We are very excited to work with the Government of Indonesia to deliver its LPG subsidies,” said Everest CEO Bob Reid. “By delivering subsidies to biometrically validated digital wallets and savings accounts over a transparent and low-cost blockchain, the government is modernizing government service delivery, cutting down on leakage, and enabling banking services with enhanced financial inclusion. We look forward to working with our integrated banking partners and the government to bring additional services to Indonesian citizens over the next few years.”
“This is needed by the Government of Indonesia to provide an option for one of the potential mechanisms for disbursing LPG subsidy,” said Bambang Widianto, Deputy Chief of Staff for Human Development and Equality/Executive Secretary of the National Team for the Acceleration of Poverty Reduction (TNP2K). “The solution that will be tested by utilizing digital ID of beneficiary is expected to transform the current mechanism by ensuring the right targeting. The new mechanism is expected that only those who are entitled (poor and vulnerable household) can enjoy this subsidy and also to save more than USD 1.3 billion in government subsidy funds.”
"ID2020 supports pilot projects that provide broad and sustained benefit for individuals. We are excited by the potential for this project to address an immediate challenge faced by this community, while also opening the door to easier access to other critical governmental programs, including healthcare, education and financial inclusion," said Dakota Gruener, Executive Director of ID2020.
The first pilot program of its kind in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the blockchain-based solution will focus on several regions in Indonesia and will impact thousands of beneficiaries. Everest’s technologies will achieve the overarching transparency and accountability required, while also providing beneficiary ranking, know-your-customer verification, secure subsidy transfer, supply chain integration, inventory/cost controls, inter-agency data coordination, and the real-time monitoring of activities. To be optimally effective, the LPG subsidy program needs to interface seamlessly with existing population and poverty-based databases; meet gender inclusivity efforts; and enable turnkey supply/value chain management. Meeting these goals will make the program an effective policy tool for the promotion of safe, clean cooking fuel among poor and vulnerable households.
About TNP2K
TNP2K (National Team for the Acceleration of Poverty Reduction) is a high-level ministerial coordination forum created for the acceleration of poverty reduction in Indonesia. It is chaired directly by the Vice President of Indonesia, who is mandated to carry out oversight and coordination in defining cross-ministerial policies for poverty reduction and social protection through Presidential Regulation No. 15 of 2010. In 2014, the government of Indonesia re-emphasized its commitment to poverty alleviation by enacting Presidential Regulation No. 166; TNP2K’s role also continues through Presidential Regulation No. 96 of 2015. TNP2K plays a key role in poverty reduction and social protection by: promoting programs that use a common method and household list for all social protection programs; improving the performance of poverty reduction programs through reforms in program design; undertaking monitoring and impact evaluation of social protection programs; and supporting line ministries in maintaining quality implementation. For more information, visit http://www.tnp2k.go.id.
About ID2020
The ID2020 Alliance is a global partnership committed to improving lives through digital identity. This alliance of governments, NGOs and the private sector will work to ensure that the technology development is informed by the needs of countries and individuals and that policies and standards reflect the latest technological innovations. By coordinating funding for identity and channeling those funds towards high-impact projects, this alliance model enables diverse stakeholders - UN agencies, NGOs, governments, and enterprises - to pursue a coordinated approach and creates a pathway for efficient implementation at scale. For more information, visit https://id2020.org/
About Everest (EverID)
Everest is an economic and value transfer platform, anchored in biometric identity, which is the world’s only device-free, globally accessible, self-sovereign digital wallet and payment solution. By leveraging blockchain and distributed storage technologies, Everest empowers banks, governments, NGOs, hospitals, businesses and other institutions to transparently and effectively exchange value with hard-to-reach users, especially the five billion people who do not own smartphones, while giving users the most control and privacy in the market. App developers leverage Everest’s platform for services like remittances, micro-finance, micro-insurance, payroll, cash transfer, KYC/AML, land transactions, medical records, etc. For more information, visit www.everest.org
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